Every object on Earth has a name for identification, and vehicles are no exception. While some car manufacturers invent new monikers, many choose to borrow from the natural world, naming their creations after animals.
These names aren’t just random; they often reflect the car’s speed, power, or distinctive shape. From muscle cars to luxury SUVs, let’s explore 15 of the most famous and beloved vehicles that share their names with creatures from the animal kingdom.
The Predators: Power and Venom
The fastest and most ferocious cars often take their names from powerful hunters, emphasizing their speed, aggression, and capability.
1. Dodge Viper
The Dodge Viper was first made in 1991 and was cancelled in 2017 after 5 generations. Early vipers were known to be handfuls as they had no driver aids at all. They all had V10 engines, which started out as 8.0 liters and grew to 8.4 liters, the largest displacement for any road car. Power started from 400hp and grew to as much as 650hp, and every one of them had a manual transmission.
The Viper got its name from the venomous Viper snake. Dodge Vipers didn’t even have Dodge logos, they had Viper logos that illuminated with their brake lights. The Viper logo was also put in the digital screens of 5th 5th-generation Vipers that illuminated when the car was close to its redline.
The 5th generation Dodge Viper ACR was the best, setting numerous lap records even beating million-dollar supercars. The ACR is still the fastest manual rear wheel drive car around the Nurburgring with a time of 7 minutes 01.30 seconds (7.01.30).Â
2. Porsche Cayman
Once considered the “poor man’s Porsche,” the Porsche Cayman has firmly established itself as a serious contender in the high-performance sports car world. Its name is a deliberate twist on the word Caiman, a species of small, nimble crocodiles that inhabit the swamps of Mexico and South America. Despite their size, caimans are fast and ferocious predators. This reflects the car’s own nature: a smaller, more affordable Porsche that is nonetheless a highly capable and serious performer.
3. Plymouth Barracuda
The Plymouth Barracuda was a muscle car (or pony car, as it was often called) made from 1964 to 1974. The most potent version featured a 7.0-liter V8 engine that produced 430 hp. The name references the Barracuda fish, a large, fast, and aggressive predatory fish known for its intimidating appearance and razor-sharp teeth. These fish are quick, able to reach swimming speeds up to 27 mph (43 km/h).
4. Shelby Cobra
The legendary Shelby Cobra was born from a partnership where AC Cars in Britain built the rolling chassis, and Carroll Shelby in America fitted them with engines and gearboxes. These cars were produced between 1962 and 1967. The most powerful street versions used a 7.0-liter V8 engine making 485 hp. Given its light weight of just over 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs), the Cobra was a notoriously difficult and powerful car to control.
Its namesake, the Cobra snake, is a fast, venomous reptile found in southern Africa and Asia. Cobras are instantly recognizable by the hood of skin that flares out when they are preparing to strike.
The Classics: Endurance and Iconic Design
These cars are known for their lasting impact, timeless design, and endurance, mirroring the reliable traits of the animals they’re named after.
5. Volkswagen Beetle
Perhaps the most famous and longest-running animal-themed nameplate belongs to the Volkswagen Beetle. The car’s shape and design remained virtually unchanged from its original drawings in 1932.
Unsurprisingly, the car is literally shaped like a beetle. Beetles are insects with a hard, durable exoskeleton that protects them. Similarly, the car was known for being slow but incredibly reliable. The Beetle became a huge success, selling over 23 million units and holding the title of VW’s best-selling car for decades.
6. Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is arguably the most successful American “Pony Car” in history, achieving global recognition since its debut in 1965.
The name comes from the Mustang horse, a majestic, free-roaming breed that originated in Spain and was brought to America. The name perfectly encapsulates the spirit of freedom, power, and speed that the car represents. With over 10 million units produced, the Mustang is still in production today and is considered one of the best sports cars ever made.
7. Corvette Stingray
The name Stingray has been used across several generations of the iconic Chevrolet Corvette (the C2, C3, C7, and C8). It typically denotes the coupe version of the base model.
The Stingray fish is related to the shark family, known for its flat, wide body structure and long, strong tail. They move gracefully using large pectoral fins, sometimes described as butterfly wings. The name evokes a sense of sleek, powerful, and flat-to-the-ground design, fitting for the low-slung Corvette.
The Unique and Nimble: Speed and Agility
The following vehicles took inspiration from animals known for their quickness, agility, or unique character.
8. Plymouth Road Runner
Built as an American muscle car from 1968 to 1980, the Plymouth Road Runner was designed to be a cheaper, powerful alternative to the more expensive options available at the time. Every model was equipped with a V8 engine.
The car’s namesake, the Road Runner bird, is a long, slender, fast-running bird with a crest and a long tail. While it can fly, the bird prefers sprinting, using its long legs and strong feet to reach a top speed of over 20 mph (32 km/h). In 1970, a famous variant, the Superbird, was produced specifically to compete in NASCAR.
9. TVR Vixen
The TVR Vixen was a lightweight British sports car. Built by a manufacturer known for small production numbers, the Vixen featured a fiber-glass body on a tubular chassis, weighing only 737 kg (1,624 lbs).
The Vixen is a small, female fox. The name likely emphasizes the car’s nimbleness and light weight, which allowed its modest 2.5-liter inline-six engine to provide an engaging driving experience with only 105 hp.
10. Datsun Honey Bee
Produced between 1973 and 1977, the Datsun (now Nissan) B210 was extremely popular in the US, partly because it was inexpensive and fuel-efficient during the oil crisis.
The Honey Bee was a special, stripped-down version of the B210 that removed almost every optional feature to make it even cheaper. The actual Western Honeybee is domesticated for honey production and crop pollination. The car, which was available in yellow, brown, or white, featured a bee decal. Today, it has become a collector’s item among enthusiasts.
11. Triumph Stag
Sometimes referred to as Britain’s answer to the Mustang, the Triumph Stag was a 2+2 convertible made from 1970 to 1977. It was positioned as a luxury sports car, powered by Triumph’s own 3.0-liter V8. The Stag refers to a fully grown adult male deer. Despite production ending after only seven years due to reliability issues, the car still maintains an active owners club today.
12. AMC Marlin
The AMC Marlin was a car produced for just two generations between 1965 and 1967 by the now-defunct American Motors Corporation (AMC). It was named after the Marlin fish, a large, long, spear-mouthed fish.
The name fits the car’s fastback shape and its performance potential, the most powerful version produced 280 hp from a 5.6-liter V8. The Marlin fish is one of the fastest in the sea, capable of reaching speeds of about 68 mph (110km/h).
Global Icons: Versatility and Mass Appeal
These global best-sellers show how animal names can be applied to diverse vehicle types, from city cars to super-SUVs.
13. Fiat Panda
The Fiat Panda is a cheap, reliable, and simple city car that has been in production since 1980. It remains one of Fiat’s most successful models.
The car is named after the Giant Panda bear. Just as the Panda bear is not truly “giant” (usually 3-4 feet tall), the Fiat Panda is a small car built for urban environments. The Giant Panda is mostly a docile creature compared to other bears, but can still attack if provoked.
14. Lamborghini Urus
Known for naming its cars after bulls, Lamborghini continued this tradition with the Urus, its second-ever SUV. It is one of the fastest and most luxurious SUVs available, powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 making 650 hp.
The Urus is a wild, large bull known for its ferocious fights. The name is meant to convey power and a massive, untamed presence, perfectly fitting the high-performance nature of the SUV.
15. Volkswagen Tiguan
The Volkswagen Tiguan is a compact crossover SUV that has become a global best-seller, leading the sales charts for both VW and the entire European market.
The name is a clever blend of two distinct animals: “Tiger” and “Iguana”. This unique combination was actually the winning result of a public naming contest held in 2007 when the car was first launched. Tigers are famous and recognizable for their stripes, while Iguanas are large lizards native to tropical areas of the Americas. The blended name hints at both the powerful and versatile nature of the SUV.
Final Thoughts
The connection between cars and animals is strong, with manufacturers choosing names that reflect the vehicle’s inherent character, be it the raw power of a Viper, the agility of a Cayman, or the reliability of a Beetle. This list is just a snapshot of the many cars that have drawn inspiration from the animal kingdom.
What other vehicles named after animals come to mind?
